Death of a Pharaoh

  At this point assistants carried in two large tables covered with gifts brought by all the invitees. Even Susan and Alex had contributed.

  Ryan brought the offerings to a close by chanting, “Hail, Osiris Pepi Nefer-ka-Ra, you stand at the door, O Pepi Nefer-ka-Ra, and wait, O Pepi Nefer-ka-Ra, you take a step. You whisper words to the ears of Horus, and you go forth. You whisper words to Set, and you move on. You speak to Osiris, and you move on. Truly a royal offering in every way!”

  He paused for a breath then continued, “You put on your loin-cloth, and your panther skin, and the girdle with a jackal's tail. You advance with your two vessels to capture the blood, you slaughter the bull, you board the boat Uatch-An, in all your forms, in all your places. Your mace is at the head of the living, and thy word is at the head of the Spirits. Anpu, God of the region of the West, and Antchet, who is at the head of the nomes of the East, make offerings to you and of the things that are yours. Hail, Pepi Nefer-ka-Ra, you are now a counterpart of the gods your brethren. You veins run with the fluid of life on earth. Dress as a god when you come before them."

  He repeated this prayer four times as the door to Fannie’s crypt slowly opened. The room already contained personal objects from Fannie’s apartment in Philadelphia to accompany her in the next life. Before her death, she selected her favorite items. Six assistants carried her coffin into the crypt and attached the cables that would maintain her body in a state of permanent cyber preservation.

  Ryan placed her crown as well as the crock and flail given to her at her coronation on top of the coffin. He stood with his head bowed to say goodbye to the woman he had never met in life but who he had now empowered to guide him from the other side. Absolute silence shrouded the crowd as if they collectively held their breath. Ryan slowly backed out of the crypt with his head bowed. Two assistants closed the heavy doors and locked them with solid chains. A priest approached carrying a small pot of melted wax that he poured into a round wooden form. Ryan then affixed the Great Seal.

  The priests, the helpers, Mariam and the guards departed leaving Ryan alone with his grandmother. The torches began to extinguish one by one; a slow motion farewell imbued with unbearable poignancy as the encroaching darkness seemed to amplify everyone’s loss. Ryan picked up a small broom and methodically swept away all the footprints in the sand then began his withdrawal, head bowed, back bent, erasing his own steps as he went. When he reached the door and brushed away the last imprints of his sandals the final torch extinguished as if Osiris had blown it out himself. No one moved. They were all riveted to their seats, overwhelmed by the beauty of the evening. Fannie had been a great Pharaoh and now she was where she truly belonged.

  Chapter Forty-two

  Princess Eshe Hotel, Coronation Day, November 14, 2016

  After the powerful Opening of the Mouth ceremony, Ryan disappeared. He slept in the Temple of Ma’at accompanied only by the two priests who would purify him for the coronation. In the morning, they shaved his head, bathed him then anointed his body with special oils. The rules forbade him to speak to anyone. Astronomers choose the day of his coronation according to the position of the moon. It only passed over a secret spot directly above the coronation chamber a few nights of the year. Most would consider a cloudy night a bad omen. The forecast called for clear skies.

  That morning, some of the guests went sightseeing while others gathered around the pool both to combat the heat and to soak in the atmosphere that surrounded historic events like a British Royal Wedding or an American President’s inauguration. There was much commentary about the dignity and splendor of the previous night. It was unanimous that Ryan had equated himself exceptionally well. The presence of Mariam at his side during the ceremony elicited many fervent wishes to see them standing together again for a happier occasion. No one close to the Pharaoh ever mentioned the subject in public but it was widely accepted that they were in love and the Servants of Ma’at seemed delighted with the possibility.

  It was already dark when the guests, save Susan and Alex, made their way through the underground tunnel to the Coronation Room. The same van took Ryan’s high school friends for another tour past rows of date palms and houses they couldn’t see. Even the oldest members of the Royal Council who had attended Fannie’s coronation, were enthralled by the extraordinary decoration on the walls and ceiling of the chamber cut deep into the side of a hill. The greatest attractions of Egypt paled in comparison and it made everyone wonder what the palaces and temples of the ancients must have looked like when they too were new.

  Mustafa proudly led a tour explaining the significance of each panel, the countless hours of painstaking work and the number of artists he had employed in the pursuit of a backdrop suitable for the crowning of both a king and a God. The invitees agreed he exceeded all their expectations.

  The lights blinked to signal that the guests should take their seats. After a moment of rustling, the room plunged into darkness adding drama to the already considerable tension. A flourish of trumpets seemed coordinated with the lights that grew in intensity to reveal a golden throne surrounded by great bouquets of exotic flowers. An honor guard carrying long spears trooped in to the sound of drums. A servant followed with a peregrine falcon on his arm. He placed it on a golden perch. There was no tether. The bird represented Horus, God of the Living Pharaoh and if it flew away before Ryan was crowned it would be a most inauspicious sign.

  Susan read the explanation in the program and mentally willed the creature to remain where it was.

  Another fanfare announced the arrival of the Pharaoh. Everyone rose and knelt on one knee or bowed. He was accompanied by Herbert Lewis as Lord Vizier and a beaming Zach as a witness. Ryan was dressed only in the pleated kilt. They had shaved his head bald and the dark kohl around his eyes accentuated the dramatic impact. He looked calm and smiled at Mariam in the front row. Everyone took their places as they had rehearsed earlier in the day.

  A program explained the prayers and chants just as the night before. Alex noted that there were far fewer pages. The priests circled around Ryan four times purifying him with water from the Nile. Herbert Lewis presented him with the Shemset apron and an assistant tied it around his waist. Next, Zach stepped forward and handed him a leather belt with a bull’s tail attached on the back to signify strength. As Lord Vizier and in the absence of Ryan’s father, it was Herbert Lewis’ honor to present him with the crown. A ripple of excitement ran through the crowd when an assistant brought out the red and white Pschent or double crown, representing both Lower and Upper Egypt. Herbert took it in his hands and held it aloft as he prayed to Lord Horus to protect his new brother. Ryan bowed his head and Herbert slowly lowered the crown. The falcon stretched its wings almost as a sign of approval.

  Ryan turned to face the crowd. Herbert presented him with the crook his grandmother had left for him then Zach brought the flail. They both belonged to the great Ramses. Standing there in his crown with all his regalia, Ryan certainly looked majestic.

  Someone shouted, “Long live the Pharaoh!” and the guests repeated it back in a mighty roar. The participants gathered around the Pharaoh bowed their heads and withdrew. Ryan stepped forward and crossed his arms. The lights dimmed plunging the hall into darkness until a small hole began to open in the ceiling admitting a sliver of silver light that grew until a ray of moonlight surrounded Ryan in a luminous circle. The effect was breathtaking. Then the most extraordinary thing happened. Ryan held out his right arm and the falcon opened its wings and flew to his offered perch. Half the audience gasped. Even the Gods, gathered together in their Great Chamber for the occasion burst into applause. Horus himself cried tears of joy.

  At that exact moment in the vault, deep beneath the sands of Timbuktu, a message magically appeared on the papyrus, “Long live Nkosana I, True Pharaoh of all Egypt, Defender of Ma’at, Champion of the Oppressed, Brother of Horus, Son of Pariacaca and Beloved of Osiris.”

  In the Coronation Chamber, a round of applause started to
build until it reached a deafening crescendo. The crowd leapt to their feet in a wave of joy and tears of happiness stained virtually every cheek. Ryan stood immobile and drank in the rapture of his subjects. The falcon on his arm cocked his head to the right as if listening for a silent command and then to the astonishment of everyone he spread his wings and took off.

  He glided over the audience so low that many crouched to avoid his great talons. He banked to the right in a wide circle then flew directly toward the ray of moonlight in time to snatch a scroll just as it fell through the hole in the roof. No one could believe their eyes. The majestic raptor soared back to Ryan’s outstretched arm, landed in a flurry of flapping wings then waited patiently for the newly crowned Pharaoh to take the missive from his beak.

  Zach and Herbert stepped forward to relief the Pharaoh of the crock and flail. The falcon flew back to his golden perch as if he obeyed a script that only the two of them understood. Ryan broke the seal and unrolled the papyrus. A great hush fell over the room. He first read it in silence. It contained a message in an elegant script.

  “The beginning of your rule marks the end of All Reigns, only you will find the courage to invoke the First Protocol. It is your shared destiny, my beloved son.”

  Ryan didn’t understand the message and he handed the scroll to a startled Herbert.

  The Lord Vizier read it then turned to the audience.

  “In the name of the Supreme Council of the Gods, Osiris sends his paternal love and admiration for his son Nkosana. Long live the True Pharaoh!”

  Ryan grabbed the scroll again and to his astonishment, it now read exactly what Herbert had just communicated to the crowd.

  He closed his eyes and the original text remained seared in his memory. He knew it was a message meant only for him but who had sent it and who was the other person whose destiny he shared? A nagging suspicion suggested that he had met him in the cloister of Poblet two days earlier.

  Vignettes of the young Pharaoh’s life decorated the ballroom of the hotel in a series of giant posters. Susan contributed a photograph of the infamous library detention gang. Zach added a picture of their jail cell, while David sent over a montage of a young Ryan at several karate tournaments. His adoptive parents forwarded some impossibly cute snapshots of him as a baby. Alex wanted to include some risqué shots from a wild Halloween party they all attended in high school but the organizing committee balked. Behind the head table there was a large portrait of Ryan in full regalia taken earlier in the day just before the coronation. On the right was his grandmother in the same serene pose as the one used for the Opening of the Mouth ceremony. A stunning likeness of his mother from before he was born, hung on the left. The resemblance was remarkable. It was an intimate and moving photographic tribute to a family born into greatness yet marked by tragedy.

  The guests began to arrive; many still shook their heads in disbelief over the divine interventions in the Coronation Chamber only an hour earlier. Two historians of the Servants of Ma’at in attendance could not remember an enthronement where the Gods had manifested their affection and support in a physical manner. The anecdotes of the falcon and the scroll would surely be commented among them for years to come.

  Ryan could barely believe what had happened himself as he sat in his suite making the last changes to his speech for the banquet. Herbert Lewis had provided a good draft with a regal tone and important elements of protocol but in view of the extraordinary events, he preferred to add a personal touch. It was his first major speech and a recording of his words would become an official document in the Royal Archives. He had to remember that everything he said or wrote was now a matter of state and would be preserved for posterity. The realization didn’t make his task any easier. Zach dropped by to see how he was doing.

  “Everyone is still flipping out over the bird and the message from heaven,” he assured his friend. “How did you do that?”

  “Damned if I know,” he replied honestly, “it wasn’t in the script.”

  “You mean it wasn’t planned?”

  “I swear,” he promised, “I’m as freaked as the rest of you.”

  Zach whistled in amazement. “Do you get to keep the falcon?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Cool,” he exclaimed looking very jealous, “and oh, I’m supposed to let you know that you have to be outside the ballroom in twenty minutes.”

  “OK, let me make a few more changes in my speech,” he requested. “I’ll see you down there.”

  The same trumpeters as earlier waited at the main entrance to the room. The guests had taken their seats. When the door opened, they all stood. The men dropped to one knee and the women curtsied. The newly crowned Pharaoh entered followed by Herbert Lewis. He was dressed in a western style suit and tie. Herbert had to help him with the knot before he came down. Zach escorted Mariam who wore a stunning traditional gown from Senegal with a matching headpiece. The Ambassador of Egypt to the United States and his wife entered next followed by a beaming Mustafa with his spouse. Among the dignitaries in the crowd were the King and Queen of Jordan and HRH the Duke of Cambridge with his beautiful wife, pregnant with their second child.

  As it was already eleven in the evening, the dinner began as soon as the guests of honor took their places. The menu featured Egyptian specialties with one plate from Senegal and a typical American dessert, apple crumble and vanilla ice cream. With so many auspicious omens from the coronation, the conversation was lively and the buzz in the room electric.

  Herbert was on the right of the Pharaoh and although the seat on his left corresponded to the Ambassador, he graciously switched with Mariam so the couple would be closer together. They smiled and chatted like two young people in love and Herbert facilitated their conversation by engaging the Ambassador’s wife in a long discussion on their experiences in America. The hour passed quickly and after the waiters served dessert, Herbert turned to the Pharaoh and asked permission to make the introduction. Ryan nodded in agreement.

  Herbert made his way to a lectern on a dais to their right. As soon as he stepped up to the microphone a silence fell over the crowd.

  “Ladies and Gentlemen it is my distinct pleasure to introduce the man of the hour, His Majesty Nkosona I, True Pharaoh of Egypt and Defender of Ma’at.”

  Nkosana sensed that some were disappointed by Herbert’s brevity. Nevertheless, a round of thunderous applause followed his words. Nkosana made his way to the podium and embraced Herbert as he passed. He whispered in his ear, “Without you I would not even be here,” he reminded his Vizier. “Thank you, my friend.”

  Every eye was on the young man as he stepped up to the lectern and placed his notes in front of him.

  “Your Majesties, Your Graces, Excellencies, My Lords and dear friends, I quickly discovered that it is a great to be Pharaoh and even lucrative,” he broke into a smile before explaining, “His Majesty, the King of Jordan just offered me a very interesting sum of money to sell him the falcon.”

  He paused for all the laughter. “I turned him down.”

  “His Royal Highness, the Duke of Cambridge warned me earlier that everyone will soon start dropping hints about the importance of producing an heir and a spare, as he lovingly refers to his younger brother, and we can see that he has become rather an expert. Ladies and Gentlemen please raise your glasses with me in a toast to the health of Their Graces and their new child.”

  The Royal couple stood to acknowledge the kind wishes of the crowd.

  “That being said, all I have to do is find a wife,” he joked.

  Mariam blushed as all eyes turned to her.

  “My grandmother would be very proud of the results of the commission she gave to our dear Servant Mustafa so many years ago,” he mentioned. “Both this hotel and the complex I had the honor of inaugurating are testaments to her vision and to his unlimited devotion.”

  The Pharaoh pointed to a beaming Mustafa who stood to receive the accolades of his peers.

  “He has even
agreed to pay for it!” he joked.

  Mustafa fell back into his seat feigning a heart attack.

  “The decoration this evening is wonderful, my thanks to the committee for all their hard work.”

  “These photographs remind me of all the marvelous people who sacrificed so much to make certain that I could be here to accept this great responsibility,”

  “Starting with the two women you see here behind me.”

  He hesitated for a moment trying to swallow a sudden lump in his throat. The applause of his guests encouraged him to continue.

  “All of you know the supreme sacrifice made by my mother and my grandmother. Some among our enemies, think they took them from me. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

  “The absence of Chief Mbaye is keenly felt by all of us.” He stopped to honor his memory. “No one did more to ensure my coronation took place, he would have been proud.”

  “Without the swimming skills of Herbert Lewis, I would not be here today. Twice he saved me from drowning. I am forever in his debt.”

  Herbert half rose to acknowledge the cheers.

  “I would be remiss if I didn’t thank my dear friend Zach who had my back in prison and my adoptive parents who as I later learned were doing their duty as dedicated Servants of Ma’at yet they still managed to make me feel loved and secure as their son. They could not be here today while they care for two other children, who don’t know how lucky they are.”

  “Ethan actually had a promising career before him as a prison guard but I count my lucky stars that he is here now, watching over me as he has done since we first met.”

  “My high school buddy Tony, came to a baseball game and somehow ended up in Africa. He’ll be the first to tell you that the subway system in New York is confusing.”

  The Americans in the audience clapped the loudest.